Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Happy Cow


I recently discovered the Happy Cow website, which is an excellent resource for vegan and vegetarian recipes and restaurants. They posted a great vegan laksa recipe on their Facebook page, which I made tonight for dinner. I tried to stay as faithful to the recipe as possible, but did substitute broccoli for green beans since they are out of season and I already had broccoli in the fridge. I also couldn't find curry leaves at Whole Foods. They may have them, but I was in a hurry and didn't feel like hunting them down. I also used Fresno peppers as my "red" chili pepper.
The broth was really good - sort of a spicy curry that really complemented the tofu and rice noodles quite well. I think green beans are definitely the better choice for a vegetable, because they will give a little bit of crunch to dish, which felt a little mushy with the predominance of rice noodles and tofu. I loved the flavor of the broth and I think next time I will buy some pre-made garlic naan to go with it. 
Overall this is one of the better vegan recipes I've come across recently, and will definitely be making it again. To save time you could make the chili paste beforehand, but it really didn't take up too much extra time as you just throw all the ingredients into the blender. It is pretty spicy, so I recommend trying it out on yourself before subjecting dinner guests to it! The photo below is from the recipe page - my version wasn't quite so artfully arranged!
This dish will do backflips in your mouth!